BBC staff gathered outside of the Pink Palace on Barrack Road today as part of a second wave of strike action against "cuts" to local radio.
Strikers chanted "no ifs, not buts, no local radio cuts," as they opposed plans by the BBC funding being diverted away from broadcast services and into online and multimedia production. The BBC insists that local budgets remain the same, and that the services are not seeing cuts - though local radio listeners will see big changes if the plans are rubber-stamped.
The strike comes as NUJ members across England have passed a vote of no confidence in the BBC Local Senior Leadership Team, with 93% of those polled said they didn't back the current managers after months of frustration over proposed changes to programmes. Under the plans, BBC Radio Newcastle's weekday afternoon show, which currently includes local news items, would come from Middlesbrough and shared with the audience of BBC Tees.
